Family, friends remember Elk Ridge teacher as great mentor and coach

LDS Bishop Jeff Prows wipes away some tears at the scene as police investigate an accident at 9800 South and 4000 West in South Jordan on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Elk Ridge Middle School teacher Randy Treglown was hit and killed while jogging near his home and school. Prows is Treglown's bishop.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Summary

Family and friends remembered a caring man and great teacher Saturday as they gathered for the funeral of Randy Treglown.

SOUTH JORDAN — Family and friends remembered a caring man and great teacher Saturday as they gathered for the funeral of Randy Treglown.

"We knew we had a good son, but it has been reinforced over and over and over so many times," said Treglown's father, Cliff Treglown. "He was such a good teacher and dad, husband and member of the community and schools."

Treglown, 51, was hit and killed Wednesday by a truck while he was jogging to work at Elk Ridge Middle School, like he did everyday.

Treglown's father said that he was overwhelmed and grateful for the community response for his son. Hundreds flooded the LDS meetinghouse for viewings Friday night and Saturday morning before the services.

"The two schools where Randy was associated, they have just been behind him big time, just fantastic support," Cliff Treglown said. "In the gymnasium where he taught, the walls were totally covered with these posters."

Treglown also described how former students his son had coached in basketball came to show their support. One student brought back the net of a basketball hoop from one of Treglown's team championships.

"That net is now with Randy's wife, he brought it back with a note, how much he appreciated what he had been taught," Cliff Treglown said. "He had it all these years — brought it back and gave it to his coach."

Several of Treglown's former students and players wore stickers displaying the words "Treglown Forever" in remembrance of their mentor.

"To this day, no matter how many years ago we played for Coach, as soon as we step foot on a basketball court we are instinctively doing the things he taught us," said Brady Haider, a former player from South Jordan. "He was a master of the game of basketball. He knew it so well but more than that too, a great mentor and taught us so much about life through sports as well."

Haider said he didn't want to believe that his former coach and mentor was gone, and even though he is, he won't be forgotten.

"We still talk about him. When I run into buddies that played on the team, we still talk about how great Coach Treglown was," he said. "So he'll never be forgotten, always in our hearts."

Haider said one of the things that made Treglown such a great teacher was that he genuinely cared about all of his students.

"One of the things that I admire most was whether you were the star basketball player or the kid that wasn't very athletic, he cared about each one of us," he said.

Austin Olsen, a former student from South Jordan, said Treglown made him want to go to school.

"I looked forward to going to school every day because he was there," Olsen said. "He was always helping us improve in our sports."

Haider said Treglown had a motto for their basketball team that he still remembers.

"He had a slogan for our team and it was, 'The will to win is important but the will to prepare is vital,'" Haider recalled. "And another thing that I will never forget is he would always tell us, 'easy practice — hard game, hard practice — easy game,' and I will never forget that."